Indian rivers are divided into two main groups: the Himalayan rivers, which are fed by both rain and melting snow and flow all year (perennial), and the Peninsular rivers, which depend mostly on rainfall and are seasonal.
Himalayan rivers
River
Origin
Main tributaries / facts
Indus
Near Lake Mansarovar, Tibet
Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej; flows into the Arabian Sea through Pakistan
Ganga
Gangotri Glacier (as the Bhagirathi), Uttarakhand
The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet at Devprayag to form the Ganga. Tributaries: Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Son
Yamuna
Yamunotri Glacier, Uttarakhand
Joins the Ganga at Prayagraj
Brahmaputra
Chemayungdung Glacier, near Mansarovar, Tibet
Called Tsangpo in Tibet and Siang/Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh; joins the Ganga in Bangladesh
Peninsular rivers
River
Origin
Flows into / facts
Godavari
Trimbakeshwar, Nashik (Maharashtra)
Bay of Bengal; the longest peninsular river, called "Dakshin Ganga"
Krishna
Near Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra)
Bay of Bengal; tributaries Tungabhadra and Bhima
Kaveri
Talakaveri, Brahmagiri Hills (Karnataka)
Bay of Bengal; Shivanasamudra Falls
Mahanadi
Near Sihawa (Chhattisgarh)
Bay of Bengal; Hirakud Dam
Narmada
Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh)
Arabian Sea; flows west through a rift valley
Tapi
Near Multai, Betul (Madhya Pradesh)
Arabian Sea; flows west through a rift valley
Luni
Aravalli range (Rajasthan)
Ends in the Rann of Kutch; does not reach the sea
Important facts
East-flowing rivers (Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri) form deltas; west-flowing Narmada and Tapi form estuaries.
The Sundarbans delta of the Ganga and Brahmaputra is the largest delta in the world.
The Kosi is called the “Sorrow of Bihar” and the Damodar the “Sorrow of Bengal” because of floods.
Major dams
Dam
River
State
Bhakra Nangal
Sutlej
Himachal Pradesh / Punjab
Tehri
Bhagirathi
Uttarakhand
Hirakud
Mahanadi
Odisha
Sardar Sarovar
Narmada
Gujarat
Nagarjuna Sagar
Krishna
Telangana / Andhra Pradesh
Mettur
Kaveri
Tamil Nadu
Quick revision
Longest river in India: Ganga. Longest peninsular river: Godavari.
Devprayag: meeting point of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda.
Narmada and Tapi flow west through rift valleys.
Brahmaputra is called Tsangpo in Tibet.
Luni is an inland river that ends in the Rann of Kutch.